In the processing of animals destined for human consumption, producers usually need to transport their animals to a containment building where an auctioneer sells the animals to brokers and/or meat processors who then transport the animals to abattoirs. Such methods generally require transport of animals over significant distances, increasing costs and reducing the quality of the end-product. Furthermore, during transportation, the animal is generally placed in a confined area and not properly nourished. Being confined in closed quarters, the animals are often in contact with one another, resulting in bruising of the skin of the animal and discoloration on the carcass after the animal has been processed in a slaughter house. When the animals are delivered to the slaughter house, they arrive stressed and are further subjected to a stressful environment, factors which have been known to affect the quality of the meat.
There are currently a number of very large-scale animal suppliers operating slaughter houses and selling meat in very large quantities to meat distributors and large retailers. The presence of these large-scale entities makes it very difficult for the small animal producer to compete in the marketplace, as there are myriad intermediates between the small animal producer and the retailer, resulting in a situation whereby small producers are not profitable operations and are often discouraged from continuing such business.
Another problem that exists with small suppliers is that when their cattle or animals are sent to auction, the animals are usually grouped with those of other producers. Therefore, a producer's specific animals cannot be inspected by that producer, nor is a specific carcass identified by the retailer to give credit to the supplier for the quality of his product. The traceability of the cut meat products derived from his carcasses do not identify the animal supplier but often the broker. The identity of the producer, a characteristic that may be of particular value to consumers, is often not known to the retailer.
Prior art devices directed at meat processing operations fail to disclose or provide means for addressing various restrictions and regulations imposed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health. Prior art devices consequently fail to provide truly mobile processing facilities. For example, prior art trailers are designed to be parked on gravel or concrete pads sloped with drain fields and do not provide for means for obtaining or purifying water, thus relying solely on a limited volume of a predetermined water tank/source.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,451 to Poitras, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a regional abattoir with mobile unit and method of use. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,466 to Sandstrom, which describes the construction of a mobile abattoir. Sandstrom fails to disclose various novel features of the present invention including, for example, features for water purification at an upstream and/or downstream portion(s) of meat processing operations.